So, you like the Stampin' Up! products and can see yourself doing a bit more with them?

That's exciting, and clever you!

Stampin' Up! caters for all sorts of demonstrators. Some people want to make cards and sell them and they plow their profit back into getting more stamps/ink/paper so they can make more cards.

Some people want the demonstrator discount for a while as they build up their craft stash. Some have regular papercraft afternoons with their friends and want to be able to source the Stampin' Up! products more easily and even pass on the demonstrator discount to their friends.

Some want to be able to attend Stampin' Up! demonstrator only events (they are awesome!), some just want to meet new stamping friends.

And some, like me, want to turn my hobby into a real business, building a team, selling lots of stamps/ink/paper, setting business goals, earning the incentive trips and other rewards . . .

There's something for everyone.

And the best bit is, your start up fee is a once off, very generous buy in price on a starter kit that includes products which are totally your choice, and if you never do another thing, you just keep the products and that's the end of it, no risk, awesome discount on your first bundle of products!

How does that work?

Well, you select $235 worth of products - I always tell people to write their wishlist first. When you've decided what you want for $235 (without going over), then you go to the join now link which your chosen supporting demonstrator (or new team leader) will send to you, set up your account and add your products in.

You will ONLY pay $169.00 for your $235 product selection (a $66 saving), you will get free postage on it and you will also receive a complimentary business pack valued at around $80 which includes catalogues, order forms, postcard invitations etc to help you get started.

Those who join in May (this month) will receive 2 boxes of catalogues in their business kit, 1 box of the 2017-2018 catalogues and a box of the brand new 2018-2019 catalogues.

Another benefit of joining in May is being able to get brand new "pre-order" products in your kit. These are products that are not yet available to the general public as they are coming in the new catalogue which starts on June 1st. If someone joins now, they can select some of these new products to get a head start.

What about me and my team?

Why would you want to join under me, instead of someone who lives a teensy bit closer to you?

There is definitely a benefit of living close to your team members as you get to meet in person, stamp together, borrow each others supplies etc. There is also a disadvantage if you and your team leader are both wanting to build a business and you live in a small country town - you become each other's competition, vying for the same small pool of customers - that can get awkward.

I have a mixture of team members. Living in Melbourne's Outer East, I have quite a few team members fairly nearby. I also have a dozen or so team members in regional Victoria, from the Gippsland farming areas, right across to the Western Districts and the central goldfields and Murray River regions. We also have around 10-11 team members across Tasmania (I grew up there and had a foot in the door for recruiting my sister and another dear long time stamping friend who have both grown teams since they joined). We also have team members in WA, SA and Qld.

I communicate with these lovely ladies via a secret Facebook group where we share lots of ideas and inspiration. I try to do a regular team email newsletter, and those who are directly recruited under me also get a great newsletter and team forum from MY team leader (the demonstrator above me), who is also a very active business building demonstrator.

We have a monthly team night which we will often set up Group Skype and chat to some of the Tassie and country girls, or at least Facebook Live video some of the team night so they can watch what we are doing and participate.

At team night, we generally stamp and chat about all things Stampin' Up!, share some techniques, show and tell, eat chocolate, plan get togethers. It's very casual and fun and we try to share lots of photos onto the FB group during the evening for the benefit of those who can't be there in person.

At new catalogue time we organise product shares among the team, so people can get a good selection of papers/ribbons/embellishments without having to buy the whole lot. And we will often organise swaps, card front swaps, or technique swaps where say 6-8 members will have a theme. Each member will make 6-8 identical projects then they will all swap with each other so everyone ends up with 6-8 completely different projects all on a theme. This is great for inspiring each other, for seeing products being used which we might not have in our collection yet, building up a collection of samples to display at our parties, classes and events - projects which might be quite different to what I would normally make, but which my potential customers may love.

Best of all, we have built this gorgeous stamping family of women who love creativity, who love getting together to stamp, who love sharing their creations on our team forum, who love supporting each other, creating for various charity causes, creating for themselves . . . it's beautiful!

There are several places on the world wide web where you can see who I am and what I do!

And my Stampin' Up! corporate web page where it all comes together in a more formal setting - with an events calendar, online shop, join now page, and about me pages. www.kathrynruddick.stampinup.net

Another awesome opportunity that is only available this month is including the exclusive, limited Share What You Love "Gotta Have It All" Bundle in you started kit. The bundle contains 13 great Stampin' Up! products with a retail value around $275.00, and is available only this month for $222.75 (so you could buy it for that, plus 5% postage) or so you could select it for your starter kit, still add an extra ink pad/adhesive/embellishments to bring your starter kit items closer to $235, and still only pay $169 for it! A huge saving! Here's the link to that one so you can see what's in it. Share What You Love Bundle

I made this display board for On Stage using all products from the Share What You Love bundle.

Well, that's a lot of information . . .

If you want to chat over the phone, feel free to give me a call on 0418 361 931 during the day or message me if you'd prefer I phone you back.

This is post no. 4 in my Bottles and Bubbles Product Suite presentation.

There are so many fun ways to make a bubble background, besides the Blown Bubble Technique I described in my last post.

You can try inking up bubblewrap and pressing your card onto that. You can use the Stampin' Up! Polka Dot embossing folder to give you nice texture and good size circles.

This Whisper White card front was embossed with Polka Dots embossing folder then sponged with Lemon Lime Twist and Daffodil Delight inks. The sponging really brings up the edges of the raised polka dots from the embossing.

We also used the wet emboss technique, where we applied the ink to the inside of the Logo side of the embossing folder, then spritzed it with water before placing the card stock in the folder. We got raised white bubbles with an awesome watercolour or wet bubble look background.

In the above photo you can see three samples of the Blown Bubble Technique, the wet embossed technique in the pale blue card centre left of the photo, dry embossed and sponged yellow card, centre right and bubble wrap technique in the bright pink at the bottom.

This was probably not a bundle of products I would see in the catalogue and then think to order for myself, so how did I come to be having so much fun creating like crazy with them?

As a member of Stampin' Up!s Global Events Council I was invited to prepare display samples and do a 10 minute presentation at our On Stage Event in Melbourne in November - the products are in the catalogue which started on January 3rd and the On Stage Event doubles as a Catalogue Reveal / Launch /pre-order for demonstrators and members of the Stampin' Up! family. I was one of only 2 demonstrators in Australia who received the product Bundle several weeks before the event so I could prepare display items and my presentation

At my team night in January - after the catalogue went live to customers and everyone was able to order them, we played with all the techniques and cut out lots of bottles, straws and bottle caps. It's so, so nice being able to create with friends -so many inspiring suggestions, colour combinations, rearranging of elements on the card and the cameraderie of the production line as one person ends up making the cups of tea, someone else cuts out stack of bottles using the Big Shot, someone else cuts out bottle caps and straws using the 2nd Big Shot - too much fun!

You too can be a part of this fun stamping family and there is no better time to join the Stampin' Up! family than during Sale-a-bration. To join, you select $235 of whatever Stampin' Up! products you want. You pay only $169, and then on top of what is already a bargain, until the end of March, you also select 2 extra stamp sets (up to $174 total value) for free!

That is such a saving - over $400 in high quality stamping products for only $169.00 and the best bit is, there is no risk whatsoever - if you never do another thing, you just keep the goodies . . .

OR you can come along to team nights and other events and stamp with us, buy more products with your 20% discount for being a member of the SU! family, be invited to demonstrator only FB groups and forums where you will be totally inspired by all the shared projects, have the opportunity to earn free stamps, or even have your stamps pay for themselves by learning to build a small business.

There are so many reasons for joining, there's sure to be one that matches you! Ask me more about it today so you can join before the end of Sale-a-bration and get those extra two stamp sets worth up to $174.00 for free!

Back late last year in the lead up to my presentation at the Stampin' Up! On Stage event at Melbourne Park, I had so much fun creating arty farty messy bubble backgrounds for some cards using the Stampin' Up! Bottles and Bubbles Product Suite.

So much so that I turned the samples into a kids school holiday class in January and then followed up with a Stamp-a-stack class for adults earlier this week.

The first technique was Blown Bubbles - this is so random and messy and fun!

You'll need some plastic cups or disposable sauce containers, a couple of bottles of Bubble Magic, or some water and a few drops of dish-washing detergent, and Stampin' Up! Re-Inkers in your chosed colours. We went for Crushed Curry (I wanted a bright yellow, but when watered down in the solution, Daffodil Delight was too light. And Flirty Flamingo for the pink, which ended up being a tad too light as well so we added a drop or two of Melon Mambo to spice it up.

One needs to blow bubbles in the solution with a drinking straw until the mixture piles up over the top of the cup (without spilling down the edges), then press your Thick Whisper White card into it to get bubble patterns. Keep repeating until you have the depth of colour you like - I probably blow and press about 4-5 times.

Repeat that all again with the second colour, and then I have used the bubble stamp in the Bubble Over stamp set to stamp a few random bubbles just to add a little more depth and definition.

Cut out a few bottles using the Bottles and Bubbles Framelits, sponge them using the same colours as the background then layer them with torn vellum, bakers twine, a greeting panel and bottle labels to suit your chosen greeting stamp. I also added Silver Foil Card bottle caps and drinking straws also cut with the Bottles and Bubbles Framelits.

Here are a few colour variations which my team members experimented with at our January team night.

The Bottles and Bubbles bundle of stamps and framelits is available in our Summer Occasions catalogue through until the end of May, but the coordinating Bubble and Fix Designer Series Paper is only available until next Saturday 31st of March as a free Sale-a-bration gift with your $90 product order. The paper is really fun in bright, versatile colours.

Why not get your free paper in this next week (value $18.95) by ordering the Bottles and Bubbles Bundle online, along with some card or ink so your product total is $90 (plus postage). Come and see me today at Chirnside Park Shopping Centre all day if you need a hand with that!

In my last post (read it here), I mentioned that I also made a couple of coke bottle cards. These are terrific for teenagers / masculine cards or just for the Coca Cola addicts in your life.

The bottle stamps and framelits are very much beer bottles with straight sides, so I used my Stampin' Snips to cut a tiny divet in each side of the bottle to give it more of the traditional Coke bottle shape.

I also tweaked the shape of the Real Red label - cut with the framelit, but then moved higher up the bottle and trimmed with scissors to a shape more reminiscent of the famous label.

On the next card I went away from the black card stock for the bottles and used Early Espresso - our darkest brown, so I could also sponge it for a bit of depth.

This card also has the Clear and Glitter Epoxy shapes as effervescent bubbles coming out of the bottle, placed on the Wood Textures Designer Series Paper background.

I was pleased with how these came out, given I am not a Coke drinker, but there are plenty of people who are, who might appreciate a personalised card like this. These are also very different cards from the others I made with this product bundle, showing how versatile the Bottle and Bubbles product suite really is. I'll be back in the next day or so to show you what else we made - particularly the cards we made in the kids school holiday class and what we were working on yesterday in the class.

In the meantime, if you have discovered that you love these products for their versatility - teenagers cards / masculine cards, and you want to get your hands on them while Sale-a-bration is still running, order them online by clicking on the thumbnail pictures below.

Do you have those days when you just want to throw your phone / laptop out the window?? A few years ago (well, probably 15 years ago) my dad sat his mobile phone on the back wheel of a tractor while he did something that needed both hands. Hours later he was looking for his phone and found the very flat remains on the track where he'd backed over it . . .

LOL so on days like this, I say I want to take my device out into the driveway and reverse over it a few times!

It's either that, or open a bottle of wine early! Which brings me to what I was trying to share with you!

Last November I presented the Bottles and Bubbles Product Suite at Stampin' Up!'s On Stage Event at Melbourne Park. In preparing my presentation I also took lots of step by step photos and I only just realised I hadn't shared most of them!

This is the Stampin' Up! Woodcrate Framelit Die cut in Soft Suede card stock and stamped with the Hardwood Background stamp. I also sponged all of the corners with Soft Suede to make them look a bit old and well-loved.

Bubble Over stamp set bottles stamped in Cherry Cobbler and Garden Green and cut with the Bottles and Bubbles Framelits Dies and mounted onto a soft suede card strip cut and scored to fit inside the crate.

The labels on the bottles were also stamped and decorated, then some Linen Thread, a hand stamped and sponged tag and a tiny wreath (from our Holiday catalogue) were added to the front of the crate. Very cute, don't you think?

The bottles in the set are very much beer or cider bottles, but as we're not beer drinkers, I wanted to be able to make more variety of wine bottles with them too,

I stamped them again in Cherry Cobbler, sponged the white edges that are left from cutting with the framelits, cut and stamped labels in Basic Black and Crumb Cake and sponged the smaller one.

The background of the card includes lots of collage stamping and some strips of left over Designer Series Paper.

The bottles are layered on with some bakers twine and a couple of embellishments cut with the framelits and sponged for 3D effect, and the gold foil bottle caps are gold foil card cut using the bottle framelits, then scored across for the ridges and trimmed slightly on the corners to fit. Not perfect, but I think it works.

I changed the bottles also to coke bottles and I will share those cards soon (see them here). I am also doing a class next Tuesday - a Bottles and Bubbles Stamp a Stack class where you will get to make 8 cards minimum using this fun bundle and some great simple background techniques. If this interests you, please check out my event details and book in!

Monthly Stamp Club ladies make up to 3 card or gift box projects, experiment with new techniques and fancy folds and earn free Stampin’ Up! products if everyone in the group places product order. Class cost is $25.00 or free with $50 product order.

The Bottles and Bubbles Product Suite is fantastic for making all types of cards for males/females/ variety of ages and occasions and in this class you will get to make at least 8 cards – 2 each of 4 designs, learn several fun techniques, become an expert stamper, sponger and die-cutter and go home with a variety of cards to send out. Depending on your skill level, you may make more cards, cost will be initial class price of $40 (for 8 cards + envelopes x 4 hours) plus $4 for each extra card made.

I will host a Stampin’ Up! party / workshop for all those who have never seen or used the products before, or who want an update on what is new in the product range. Everyone bringing someone along I’ve not met before will get a little thank you gift. Everyone placing a product order that qualifies for a Sale-a-bration free gift will also receive a share of the hostess gifts

We’ll be on the casual kiosk at Chirnside Park Shopping Centre from 9am-5pm so come and visit us and see what we are creating. Free to stop and chat. Collect a catalogue, buy a finished card, book into a class.

Beautiful Gift Boxed Birthday Cards with monthly dividers so you never forget another birthday. Make 16 cards and keep them organized in this delightful storage box. Class and materials kit only $55. Suitable for beginners.

Purchase the stamp set, a Stampin’ Up! adhesive as well as the material kit and select a free Sale-a-bration item too.

Works out at less than $3.50 per card and you get to keep the gorgeous divider box and stamp set if you added that to your booking order.

Tomorrow I will be at Eastland Shopping Centre all day celebrating International Women's Day by participating in the Maroondah Council's Women on the Go Expo.

I will be talking to my visitors about Being Part of Something Amazing. This means different things to different people and I will be sharing experiences and opportunities for you to be part of my something amazing.

I would love to see you there. The expo is open from 9am until 5.30pm inside Eastland Shopping Centre, Level 1 between Myer and the Coffee Club.

Wow! Can you believe how fast this year is going? I don't even want to think about it.

Some exciting news! You'll remember that late last year we were fundraising for Alysia's Wish - to send Alysia on a cruise to New Zealand, her first real holiday. Well, she's been and is home now, printing her photos and getting ready to make a scrapbook album of her fun memories.

We have some items from the fundraiser left over - we found out later that apparently there was some sort of Facebook glitch and people who were wanting to bid on the silent auction items online without attending the event couldn't actually see the items to bid on. Ooooops! Sorry about that, we had no idea that was happening!

The good news is, we are now ready to auction off the remaining items. All funds raised will go back into Alysia's account to help pay off some of her trip expenses.

The auction will start today, March 1st and run through until Sunday March 11th and there are 30 items to bid on.

Please place your bids by commenting on each specific photo. Bidding will close at 8pm next Sunday 11th March at which time the highest bidder on each item will win the item. Payment will need to be made through Alysia's Go Fund Me page and collection of purchases arranged via email to Alysia. If you require a purchased item to be posted to you, you will need to pay postage.

Good luck on the bidding!!

Note: All items were donated from various people specifically to be auctioned off to raise money for Alysia's Wish fundraiser. All proceeds are going directly to Alysia's holiday trip and no other person is benefitting in anyway from the sale of these items.

During late November, some of my lovely Stampin' Up! team members and I were at the Stampin' Up! stand at the Melbourne Stitches and Craft Show.

We love meeting people at the Craft Shows - and the Royal Exhibition Building is something super special - except for the fact that the weather was like this week and that dear old building doesn't have Air Conditioning!! Boy was it hot!!

I've taken a break from the major craft shows for the last year or two, as it's a) a lot of work!! and b) quite expensive . . . but this year to offset our costs of having the stand there, we agreed to prepare and sell kits for various papercraft projects.

There are a few of these left over, and I'd like to share them with you, in case you didn't get to the show and would like to get your hands on some great ready to make kits, and excellent instructions.

Explosion Box Card

First we we have two Explosion Box kits.

Kits include all pre-cut pieces, card, paper, labels and ribbon, as well as full instructions. You will need to provide adhesives and in some cases a Christmas (or other) greeting stamp set.

Kits include all pre-cut pieces, card, paper, labels and ribbon, as well as full instructions. You will need to provide adhesives and in some cases a Christmas (or other) greeting stamp set. Kit is $10 + postage.

Third, a cheerful, floral all occasions card.

Could be used for birthday or thinking of you.

Kits include all pre-cut pieces, card, paper, labels and ribbon, as well as full instructions. You will need to provide adhesives and in some cases a Christmas (or other) greeting stamp set. Kit is $8 + postage.

If you would like to purchase any of these kits. please comment below with your email address, or email kathryn@katlodesigns.com Payment via DD, CC or Paypal. Kits will be posted as soon as payment is received. Multiples of each kit still available.

From 1pm to 4pm on Saturday, we are gathering at the Eltham Senior Citizens Hall, in Library Place Eltham where we will have a fun afternoon with lavish afternoon tea, lots of fun Stampin' Up! inspired Bingo Games with dozens of give-aways, a raffle, a silent auction, and a truly gorgeous Make & Take Project, which several team members spent all day yesterday cutting and stamping bits and pieces for you.

We have some amazing sponsors for the event which we'd like to thank!!

Ministry of Cakes - for a biscuit hamper

SPC - Food Factory Sales - for a food voucher

Phillip Island Nature Parks - 4 Parks Pass

The Comic's Lounge - Passes

Emily's Professional Beauty - Massage Voucher

Yarra Valley Chocolaterie and Ice Creamery - Ice cream Vouchers

Paperazzi Stampin' Up! team - Venue, marketing and support crew on the day

You can see there is something for everyone - so many bits and pieces to give away in the goodies bags and Bingo games and so many items for you to bid on in the auction.

Bring your lose change for the raffle and your serious cash for the auction and maybe snag an item or two you can use for Christmas presents for your family and friends. Not all items are stamping related!

Door charge is $30 per person - for which you get Make & Take Kit, 3 Bingo cards, afternoon tea and giveaways. You may pay at the door - cash or EFT, or if you'd like to get that part out of the way before arriving, you may like to make your payment via Alysia's Wish Go Fund Me Page. Your receipt will be your door ticket.

Stamping Team members who are helping out may buy a goodies bag with Make & Take Kit and Bingo Cards for $20.00, if they'd like to play along.

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2016-2017 Catalogue

A Note from Kathryn

The content of this blog is the sole responsibility of Kathryn (Lowe) Ruddick as an Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator. The use of and content of the classes, services, or products offered on this blog is not endorsed by Stampin' Up!
Stamped images on this page are copyright Stampin' Up! ® 1990-2018. All designs and tutorials are for your personal inspiration only.
As per Stampin' Up! policy, I am only able to sell Stampin' Up! products and give Stampin' Up! prizes to Australian residents.

Shirley is a good friend I made working on EastLink together. She ended up moving to Darwin before the project was finished, and as a parting gift I started this mini album for her "Your EastLink Journey".